Pilots set Oakland-Mojave Desert flight record

OAKLAND

Christopher Freeze (left) and Rodrigo von Conta pose with a sticker to be applied to the Mooney M20J used to set their record flights between Oakland Airport and Mojave Spaceport and return to Oakland Airport.

Christopher Freeze (left) and Rodrigo von Conta pose with a sticker to be applied to the Mooney M20J used to set their record flights between Oakland Airport and Mojave Spaceport and return to Oakland Airport.

Photo: Courtesy To The Chronicle

Photo: Courtesy To The Chronicle

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Christopher Freeze (left) and Rodrigo von Conta pose with a sticker to be applied to the Mooney M20J used to set their record flights between Oakland Airport and Mojave Spaceport and return to Oakland Airport.

Christopher Freeze (left) and Rodrigo von Conta pose with a sticker to be applied to the Mooney M20J used to set their record flights between Oakland Airport and Mojave Spaceport and return to Oakland Airport.

Photo: Courtesy To The Chronicle

Pilots set Oakland-Mojave Desert flight record

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Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. British billionaire-adventurer Richard Branson crossed the Pacific in a hot-air balloon faster than anyone ever had before. The late Steve Fossett gained international fame for his unending drive to demolish aviation speed records.

And now, Rodrigo von Conta and Christopher Freeze say they have set the record for flying from Oakland to the wastelands of the Mojave Desert - and back again - in a single-engine plane.

Sure, it may not rise to the level of say, the Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird jet streaking through the ether at a mind-numbing 2,194 mph. But the two pilots, both of whom are flight instructors, said their journeys in a modified Mooney M20J were just as exciting - and will probably be one (or two) for the record books.

The flying was the easy part.

"What it is, is a lot of paperwork and coordination," said Freeze, a Martinez resident. "That's really the difficult part. There were numerous times during this process that we thought things might go belly up. But those who are willing to persevere, those willing to sacrifice time and treasure, the rewards are great."

The two decided to fly from Oakland International Airport not just because that's where they're based, but also because the city holds a special place in the annals of aviation. Charles Lindbergh dedicated the airport in 1927. Ten years later, Amelia Earhart left from Oakland on an ill-fated attempt to fly around the world.

The pilots' destination, the Mojave Air and Space Port, was chosen because that was where aerospace designer Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne landed in 2004 after becoming the first private, manned craft to reach space.

"It's where all the big ideas are happening right now," Freeze said. "It seemed natural to connect the old records with the new records."

The pair flew the Mooney - identifiable by its distinctive backward-facing tail - from the Oakland airport's North Field on Tuesday, the day Freeze turned 30. The plane belongs to Bob Linford, von Conta's stepfather.

Shortly after 9 a.m., von Conta, 39, of Oakland was at the controls while Freeze radioed to the control tower that they were ready to go. At 9:14 they were airborne, and an hour and 54 minutes after that, they made it to Mojave.

After refueling in the desert and eating lunch, the two switched positions, with Freeze acting as pilot and von Conta seated next to him. They were back in Oakland at 2:53 p.m., after a flight that lasted only 59 minutes because the headwind wasn't as strong.

There was no record for a single-engine flight between Oakland and Mojave to begin with. But a pilot can't just set a speed mark by zooming from point A to B and back.

All potential record-setting flights must be sanctioned beforehand by the National Aeronautic Association, which oversees and certifies aviation records in the United States. Von Conta and Freeze have taken the necessary steps and expect to hear from the group soon.

The association encourages pilots of all levels of experience to set records in all kinds of aircraft and for a variety of tasks such as altitude, speed and distance.

While it takes training to be a pilot, von Conta said, "I think there's a potential for anyone to set a record like this, absolutely. And that's the part that's interesting to pilots."